Thousands of substitute teachers in Michigan affected after company abruptly shuts down

Thousands of substitute teachers in Michigan affected after company abruptly shuts down

DETROIT — More than 100 schools, including Dearborn Public Schools, could be left without substitute teachers Tuesday morning as a substitute teaching group has abruptly shut down.

In a letter sent out Monday night, Professional Educational Services Group (PESG) announced it was stopping all operations in Michigan immediately and anyone employed by them would be terminated as of Oct. 22 which was Tuesday.

The group says that it affects between 1,500 and 2,000 substitute school teachers throughout the state. On top of that, they had as many as 15,000 individuals registered with the group at about 110-120 school districts.

They are now encouraging anyone to who was employed by the group to contact their local school districts to sign up and obtain work directly from the districts.

Right now, it’s not clear what districts the shutdown will affect, but Dearborn Public Schools said there will be delays in getting some substitutes to the buildings by Tuesday morning.

“Please be patient and understand that we have a plan in place and will be utilizing all of our resources in order to ensure coverage at our schools,” the district said in a statement. “Our staff has pulled together at a very critical time to manage this situation and we appreciate your support during this extraordinary event.”

It isn’t clear how many other schools in metro Detroit will be affected by the shutdown, but we’re told some schools in Macomb County are also impacted.

According to PESG they tried to stay open but negotiations to sell the company fell through over the weekend.

PESG said in a statement that those who work in the days leading up to the shutdown will still get a paycheck from the company or the district at the next regularly-scheduled pay cycle or as soon as possible thereafter. They are asking people not to change their direct deposit on file with the company.